Jacques Di Donato

Jacques Di Donato (* 1942 in Bourg-en-Bresse ) is a French clarinetist, saxophonist and drummer who has emerged in the fields of modern jazz , classical and contemporary music and new improvisation music. Between 1984 and 2007 he taught clarinet at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Lyon .

Life

At the age of twelve, Di Donato began (as an autodidact ) to play drums in his father's dance orchestra, who also taught him to play the alto saxophone . He studied clarinet at the music school in Béziers , then at the Conservatoire National, first in Montpellier and Versailles , before completing his studies at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris in 1966 with first prize. In 1965 he received the first prize for chamber music there. He also began performing in Paris jazz clubs and was a member of the big bands of Jef Gilson , Jean-Claude Maude, Martial Solal and Sonny Gray. He also interpreted new music in the Ensemble Musique Vivante and was bass clarinetist in the Nouvel Orchester Philharmonique de Radio-France under Gilbert Amy from 1978 to 1990 . He has performed works by Pierre Boulez , Luciano Berio , John Cage , Paul Méfano , Vinko Globokar and Olivier Messiaen and has appeared at international festivals such as the Donaueschinger Musiktage , the Darmstadt Summer Course or in Royan. He also worked in the Le Quatuor de Saxophones with Jean-Louis Chautemps , François Jeanneau and Philippe Maté and later in the Trio de Clarinettes with Louis Sclavis and Armand Angster . Di Donato led numerous formations including the Jacques Di Donato Quintet , the Mhère Quartet (with Xavier Charles , Fabrice Charles, Louis Michel Marion), the Système Friche , Brahmâ . He also founded and directed the Fruits de Mhère Festival , Les Champs de l'Improvisations . He also played with Bernard Lubat , in the trio of Philippe Deschepper and in a duo with Christine Wodrascka . He also recorded with Eddy Louiss ( Porgy & Bess , 1971) and with Tim Hodgkinson ( Sketch of Now ).

Discographic notes

• Le Quatuor de Saxophones Mad Sax II (Cy, 1982; Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros)
• Louis Sclavis, Jacques Di Donato & Armand Angster Trio de clarinettes ( FMP , 1991)
• Gaël Mevel Quintet Images et personnages (with Didier Petit, Jean-Jacques Avenel , Thierry Waziniak; Leo Records , 2010)

Web links

• Interview with Jacques Di Donato
• Jacques Di Donato at Allmusic (English)
• Jacques Di Donato at Discogs (English)